1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to herpesviruses and in particular, to human herpesvirus-7. The present invention also relates to methods of detection and diagnosis of the presence of the human herpesvirus-7.
2. Background Information
Herpesviruses are large DNA-containing viruses which share architectural features of their virion, including a DNA core, an icosadeltahedral capsid with 162 capsomers, an amorphous tegument, and an envelope (Roizman, B. (1982) in The herpesviruses. Vol. 1. ed. Roizman, B. (Plenum York), pp. 1-23.) Members of the Herpesviridae family have been isolated from more than 80 different animal species. Six different herpesviruses of man have thus far been described. The most recent one to be identified (Salahuddin, S. Z., Ablashi, D. V., Markham, P. D., Josephs, S. F., Sturzenegger, S., Kaplan, M., Halligan, G., Biberfeld, P., Wong-Staal, F., Kramarsky, B., and Gallo, R. C. (1986) Science 234, 596-601.), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), is the causative agent of roseola infantum, a common childhood disease characterized by high fever and skin rash (Yamanishi, K., Okuno, T., Shiraki, K., Takahashi, M., Kondo, T., Asano, Y., and Kurata, T. (1988) Lancet i, 1065-1067.). HHV-6 exhibits predominant T cell tropism (Agut, H., Guetard, D., Collandre, H., Dauguet, C., Montagnier, L., Miclea, J. M., Baurmann, H., Gessain, A. ( 1988) Lancet i, 712., H., Dauguet, C., Montagnier, L., Miclea, J. M., Baurmann, H., Gessain, A. (1988) Lancet i, 712., Downing, R. G., Sewankambo, N., Serwadda, D., Honess, R., Crawford, D., Jarrett, R., Griffin, B. E. (1987) Lancet ii, 390., Lopez, C., Pellett, P., Stewart, J., Goldsmith, C., Sanderlin, K., Black, J., Warfield, D., Feorino, P. (1988) J Infect Dis 157, 1271-73., Lusso, P., Markham, P. D., Tschachler, E., Veronese, F. dM., Salahuddin, S. Z., Ablashi, D. V., Pahwa, S., Krohn, K., Gallo, R. C. (1988) J Exp Med 167, 1659-1670., Takahashi, K., Sonoda, S., Higashi, K., Kondo, T., Takahashi, H., Takahashi, M., Yamanishi, K. (1989) J. Virol. 63, 3161-3163).
In the course of a study of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in the laboratory of Dr. Carl H. June at the Naval Medical Research Institute, it was noted that a culture of uninfected activated CD4.sup.+ cells obtained from a healthy individual (RK) exhibited spontaneous cytopathic effect (CPE). The cells were negative for HIV-1 as judged by reverse transcriptase activity and absence of p24 antigen by antigen capture assay. The cultures were transferred to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Twinbrook, where a herpesvirus with distinct properties was isolated and characterized. One of the salient features of the present invention was to isolate and propagate the virus and expose it to tests which led to its identification as a new human herpesvirus.